The terrain continued to rise and I was intimidated by the mountains before me ... as well as feeling pretty damned nervous and alone. It was a LONG way from anywhere if anything should break down in the RV! It was a little late to fret about that, so I gripped the wheel and climbed on. Eventually I came to accept that being afraid was just that..being afraid...and I could move ahead despite the fear. I did have the CB radio and hoped that, if I needed it, I could get help with that.
(By the way, the pictures aren't from the trip, but remind me of what I was seeing on my travels.)
It was hot and the air smelled of pitch as the trees, the RV and I cooked in the summer heat. The temperature gauge would climb up to almost boiling and I would pull off the road and park, opening the hood to let the air flow over the hot engine. The owner before me had installed a cab air conditioner, but it didn't work and I didn't want to spend the money to have it fixed. One way to keep the temperature down is to run the heater off and on, but on really hot days, the only reasonable thing to do was to stop.
Some places the road was close enough to the river to climb down and sit or splash in the Clearwater, then the Lochea River, icy cold waters. Always very aware of being alone, I didn't dare swim and was extremely careful climbing over the rocks, but it sure was wonderfully refreshing to cool myself when the opportunity arose. There were rafters galore on the river and it looked like a great deal of fun ... we waved to each other and I wondered if I could maybe afford to take a trip that way some day. (Never have ... YET!!!)
The views were fantastic, but I was glad to get to get through Missoula and stop in Turah for the night. I could see the Rocky Mountains awaiting me and they were even more formidable!
The next day was a HARD twelve hours over the Continental Divide at MacDonald Pass. There was a strange sound in the RV as I started out. I stopped and looked around, but didn't see anything. The sound continued and I couldn't figure out what it was. I eventually learned to pay close attention to 'new sounds', for they meant something was different and, usually, wrong! The next time I stopped for gas, I took my small wooden bat and pounded the tires(as I had seen truck drivers do). The inside rear tire was flat! That had been the odd sound, and I had managed to wear all the tread off it! The man fixed the leak and put it back on until I could find another. Thank goodness I had stopped for gas before going over the mountains !
The view from the top was that of an eagle's !!! Miles and miles of vallys, fields and forest. Way off to the Northwest I could see a fascinating huge plateau. I almost decided to go closer and see what it was, but the clear air can be very deceptive and it could have been a hundred miles away, so I didn't.
The only convenient campground in Great Falls was right in the middle of town, so I decided to head on north to Havre, Montana. The roads changed from county to county. Some were well maintained and some were terrible. I found a small, shady campground outside of Havre. It had mosquitos the size of humming birds (well, it seemed that way), but it was quiet and I was really tired after the pull over the mountains. I traded the manager of the campground some onions and garlic for a loaf of bread and settled in for a few days.
It was wonderful to climb into a hot shower and really scrub. I had not had the chance to shower since leaving Oregon! I quickly learned that bathing once or twice a day was usually not feasible while traveling steadily. At times the shower houses were too far from where I had camped, at times I parked where there were no facilities. There was always a "spit bath" available in the kitchen sink. The bathroom was crammed with stuff and leaked, so I didn't want to use that. I had worn my hair very short since the early seventies, but along about here I decided that as soon as I could I would have it cut REALLY short, so I could wash it easily in the sink.
Coming back after the shower, the mosquitos dined sumptuously on my clean body and I decided to stay inside that night. A wee rabbit sat outside next to the RV and nibbled grass while casting curious glances at the TV through the window. I was surprised how many times I found various animals seeming to watch tv. The rabbit and I watched people come and go the next few days, while I wrote letters to my friends.
It was good to rest, but soon I was anxious to start out again, so headed east on Route 2, running parallel to the Canadian border.
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